Welcome to the conclusion of this GRACE ALONE worship series! Now, this doesn’t meant that we now know everything there is to know about God’s amazing GRACE, but I hope and pray that it’s wet your appetite to continue learning about God’s GRACE through scripture in the days to come… So, as we wrap this study up, let me begin with this story—to explain yet another truth about God’s GRACE… A man by the name of Victor Hugo once wrote a work called Les Misérables. In Les Misérables, the legendary...
If you want to know when you’re encountering the LAW, do a quick inventory of your fears. What are you afraid of? I mean … really afraid of… In a survey of the general public, people were asked about the same thing. Death came in at Number 6. Number 1, by a long shot, was … public speaking. And I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that fear of public speaking is really about a much deeper fear—that of judgment … being vulnerable in a room full of people,...
I will never forget standing in the kitchen of the parsonage at La Farge, Wisconsin, my mother working over the sink with tears in her eyes, my father having just come in the front door … looking at me and saying, “Either you’re going to leave … or your mother’s going to leave … and your mother’s not going to leave!” I was probably in my sophomore year of high school. I was absolutely full of myself … and so unhappy! And you know they say you take things out...
Folks, if you’ve ever studied any church history before, you’ve probably already heard the term sola gratia or ‘grace alone’. It’s a term that Martin Luther (and others) used to talk about how our relationship with God is supposed to work. However, over the years, I’ve discovered that even though we claim to live by ‘grace alone’, we’re more likely to actually live by ‘grace a lot’ … but not alone. In this series, I’m determined to take back what the church has lost. For Martin Luther (and others), it...
I’ve had the privilege of being with several people as they were approaching death. A person’s dying words sometimes simply express his/her needs: “Could you move the pillow?” or “May I have a drink?” Sometimes they express a concern for others—a final ‘I love you’ or ‘It’s going to be O.K.’ A person’s final words reveal what is on his/her heart at that time, and sometimes they reveal the nature of the person’s faith, as well. I’ve told you before what my mother’s last words were: “I’m happy!” We interpret...
Thousands of Dutch residents spent time digging through their garbage after they learned that they might have thrown away a diamond. A local jeweler sent 4,000 clients a mailing marking the tenth anniversary of his store. Two hundred of the envelopes contained a small diamond, while the others contained cubic zirconium, a cheap substitute used in costume jewelry. Many people who received the letter ignored it, thinking it was junk mail and threw it away without looking inside. When only a few people responded to the mailing the jeweler called...
Throughout my life, I have known several people (my father being one of them) who seemed to live day-by-day free and unhindered, no matter what was going on in their lives. They had something. They definitely had a confidence that came from somewhere besides themselves. It was obvious that whatever was empowering their lives was something bigger than themselves! After living with many of these folks for years and studying their lives and what made them tick, I am convinced that what they had—that allowed them to live free and...
Some of you may remember the sermon series from a couple of years ago called ‘Plan B.’ For many, it was a series that hit them right where they were at; for others, it was an uncomfortable time because it reminded them of where they’d been before—in the midst of a time of life they didn’t plan on! I probably don’t have to even say this today, but I’VE BEEN LIVING THROUGH PLAN Bs IN MY LIFE FOR THE PAST YEAR… On January 4 of last year, I had quadruple...
